What do these U.S. locations have in common: Central Falls, RI; Detroit, MI; San Bernardino, CA; Mammoth Lakes, CA; Stockton, CA; Jefferson County, AL; Harrisburg, PA; and Boise County, ID? Well, each has filed for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy since 2010.

Oh, you thought those were representations of Donald Trump? You poor soul.

Virtually every event, good or bad, of Trump’s adult life appeared in one or more sections of the New York Times; in that more than four decades, the Times and other media outlets put no nasty labels on Trump. It wasn’t until this, his second presidential run – after multiple fits and starts, that the press determined to supplement his name with colorful adjectives, and it did not take long… Read more...

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It is possible that the “No Christian should vote” movement, regarding either major party candidate in 2016 is primarily a social media phenomenon However, I have reviewed enough articles and had enough personal conversations to doubt that.

It is almost certain that anyone with even a remote church affiliation has heard the “ain’t neither of ’em godly” refrain, or the “I was supporting Cruz, but now that y’all rejected him…” mantra, or the “We don’t need to worry; God is in control” chant to justify not voting for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump next month. Read more...

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• Segment the electorate into as many groups as practical, particularly at the state level,
• Empathize with sympathetic groups to create the illusion of a supportive coalition,
• Ignore conflicting interests within their coalition, speaking only of common goals,
• Hurry to the primary/caucus before tensions in the coalition become unmanageable,
• Repeat, in each state, adding/deleting groups as necessary to secure enough delegates,
• Discard nationally unappealing or “extreme” groups at the convention, and
• Craft a party message that:
– Slights true believers,
– Dupes fence-sitters,
– Placates the disaffected, and
– Appeals to voters not in the party.

Call it a “Divide, Destroy, then Cobble Together” strategy, a key feature of which is, no matter the general election result, the nominee has a reasonable answer for those offended by his campaign positions: “Compromise”.

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My “pen” is largely silent during the 2016 presidential campaign and I would prefer it remain so; few things distract more from, while doing less to meet, this nation’s challenges than the two-year kabuki dance of those seeking the presidency. However, something so brazenly foul now occurs that it compels me to comment.

Donald Trump’s tour de force, seeking a major presidential party nomination, is shocking…to everyone except Trump. When he opted out of the 2012 campaign, Trump declared: Read more...

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Over the course of 79 years, he became a military man, the husband of one woman for more than half a century, a baptized Catholic, the father of 3 and grandfather of 5, a decorated war veteran, a Southerner…and someone who, by choice, never again dwelled in New York City.

That is not to say that New York ever stopped being “home” to him. During my childhood, my parents would take us on alternating summer vacations; one year we would drive to New York and visit with my father’s family, and the next year we would drive to Oklahoma City for the Overton Family Reunion with my mother’s people. Read more...

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A current Islamic objective is for Muslims to dwell throughout the world. The goal of Islam, from its founding, is Muslim supremacy wherever any follower of Mohammed may dwell. And quite a few Muslims dwell in France.

In 1967, France’s Muslim population reached 1,000,000 people. By 1994, the number had increased 200%, to 3 million, with accompanying assimilation “issues”. By 2010, that number had increased, by more than half, to 4.7 million, about 7.5% of France’s population; in Paris, Muslims were 15% of the city’s residents. This SHOULD not be a problem. Usually, it WOULD not be a problem. But Islam is most unusual. Read more...

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Donald Trump, after threatening to do so five times previously, has finally stepped into American electoral politics, and at the game’s highest level. For the time being, he IS the show, the most popular man seeking the presidency, some 14 months before the election.

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Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr., was a black man, of the 1960’s and 1970’s, who excelled in athletics and had a mind for other important pursuits. Like Curt Flood, who challenged Major League Baseball’s Reserve Clause as unfair to players; like Jim Brown, who retired from the NFL – at his peak – rather than allow the Cleveland Browns to dictate to him. Others included Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell. These were passionate sportsmen, but each knew where sports ended and dignity began.

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The U.S. and Iran – along with China, France, Russia, the U.K., and Germany – reached an “agreement” regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program. For Iran, the agreement is as historic as it is beneficial. By simply signing the document, Iran receives:

• Relief – with Russian and Chinese support, and over the objections of the outgoing Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff – from the arms embargo that currently keeps Iran from being even more powerful in the region, and Read more...

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• Whose adherents represent every U.S. political party as well as independents,
• Which successfully courts conservatives, liberals/progressives, and moderates,
• That overcomes all color and ethnicity barriers,
• That bridges social and economic divides,
• That ignores differences in education and intellect,
• That has operated since the 1960’s, with its origins in the nation’s earliest governance, and,
• Though it impacts all U.S. politics, most Americans have neither name nor label for it…

Is that conceivable, seeing that Americans seem more “divided” now than at any time since the Civil Rights Era, or World War I, or even the Civil War? Not only is it conceivable, it has dominated U.S. politics over the last half-century, and promises to stay influential for generations to come. What is this affiliation? Read more...